Ultrasound works magicOne tool that South Dakota beef producers Blane and Cindy Nagel can''t do without is an ultrasound pipefencetoolssales machine. All heifers on their 300-head Maine-Anjou herd are scanned each May and then bred according to their muscle scores and marbling levels. Ultrasound data for all sale bulls is provided to potential buyers. "As a breeder, I use it as a mating tool," says Blane, who farms near Springfield. "The buyers of my bulls use it as a selection tool." Nagel pays most attention to the marbling around the ribeye area. His cattle naturally muscle well, so he is looking for those who are also heavily marbled.

Nagel''s wife, Cindy, and her sister-in-law, Angela Nagel (both pictured on page 34), are trained technicians who go on the road with the equipment, scanning more than 15,000 cattle a year for producers across the Midwest and West. Their business, Midwest Sonatech, Inc. (605/369-2628) works with Iowa State University (ISU) to analyze the data. Business is booming."Ultrasound body composition data is the greatest tool a seedstock producers can use to make genetic improvement," says Cindy. "Customers are now demanding the data. Ultrasound results can make or break a bull."The Nagels use two Aloka 500V machines to collect measurements on fat thickness, ribeye area and marbling, and rump fat. The stored images are analyzed by ISU with computer software. The Nagels can scan 20 cattle an hour. They charge $14 a head, which includes $4 for image analysis.

He also likes the white polywire made by Premier because it "has a lot of give, even after it''s been out in the sun for pipefencetoolssales months." The cheaper yellow and black polywire sold at farm supply stores is flexible when you unroll it, says Klocke, but it gets brittle out in the sun.Twenty years and still tickingDairy farmer Dan Johnson of Elk Mound, Wisconsin, has used his Blitzer pipefencetoolssales solar fence controller for almost 20 years. It''s been hit pipefencetoolssales by lightning twice, requiring replacement of the the solar grid and one other part, but otherwise, it''s worked fine, he reports. Johnson milks 60 Holsteins and grazes the hills of his 285-acre farm.